Anybody get called yet from Fiat about Prima Edizione Delivery?

[Fiat500USA]

fredfrey wrote

Kelly is one of the very few dealers who seem to have it together. Sure it sucks for them that they are so far of the vast majority of the other dealers.  Dealers were only chosen by FIAT in November.  Who knows how much bureaucracy and red take is required now to get a licence to sell FIAT. Just imagine a huge DMV staffed with people who say "what is FIAT?".   The official roll out and publicity for the 500 will happen this summer along with the 500C.  Any dealer that is crying about stock of cars now will be happy then when gas is $5 a gallon and they've actually got cars in stock that people want - and not a lot full of hummers.

And I've got my Regional Brand Manager to thank for getting my car on the way to me. It has been sitting in New Jersey for over a month now and all the calls in the world to the FIAT call center could not get it to move. It is now being put on a Flat-bed truck and driven to Sarasota Florida to my dealer.  This is costing FIAT $ so I'm sure they will fix all the problems prior to publicizing the brand.  

Only die-hard fans ordered the Primas.... and only die-hard fans were willing to put up with all the mix-ups.

From what I've heard about the license thing is, for NY at least, what should take 2 weeks is taking more like 6 weeks due to DMV. I know a dealer who went to DMV in January and is still waiting...

[Jim]

These Dealers have been selling cars in NY for more then a few years, and have license to sell other cars so the process should be no surprise to them. They should have applied as soon as they were chosen. FIAT should have demanded it. And there is no excuse for the first edition 500 to be delivered second.
I am starting to think the the choice of Prima is really slang for prime, as our cars were obviously used to prime the network. It's sad but both FIAT and the dealers have blown this project big time, and in no way should it ever be considered a success.

[fredfrey]

Again, the dealers were only chosen in Mid-November. Yes, the dealers have a licence to sell Chrysler products, but those licences may have been obtained many years ago - who knows how much red tape they had to deal with.

True, Primas should have been first. But in a year or two, our cars will be special (as will the abarth) and the standard 500 will still be cool, but not as special.

[Fiat500USA]

 

fredfrey wrote

Again, the dealers were only chosen in Mid-November. Yes, the dealers have a license to sell Chrysler products, but those licenses may have been obtained many years ago - who knows how much red tape they had to deal with.

True, Primas should have been first. But in a year or two, our cars will be special (as will the Abarth) and the standard 500 will still be cool, but not as special.

I agree, in a year, the wait will just be a memory and we'll have a special car.

As far as the license goes, after you apply for the license, the DMV comes and inspects your facility. You have to have a facility to inspect. And like I said, what should have normally taken 2 weeks, doesn't because of cutback to staffs and serious bureaucracy. They applied in January, which should have been plenty of time.

I'm annoyed about the wait, but what can I do. Setting up this dealer network is a huge undertaking that involves 135 different, independent businesses, thousands of people and huge bureaucracies.  

There is no way everything (most?) will go as planned. I'll admit, I must have been naive thinking it would be smoother.

If they deliver by April 30, they technically made their deadline.

[kmarei]

April 30 was the initial deadline.
i have an email from Laura Soave, dated december 22nd 2010,  that states:
"Delivery should occur in mid to late February. "

furthermore, this is what was stated as our contract in the emails:
"Chrysler Group LLC reserves the right to change, modify or cancel this program at any time without prior notice, full refund will be provided. "

now i think it's safe to assume that she, being the CEO, is authorised to make changes to our contract, and this email does just that.
so they did not meet their deadline.
there ain't no 2 ways about this, they dropped the ball. and with their most loyal customers.
people who forked over money for what was at the time, only a sketch of a car.

[Jim]

Im not buying any of that. it's part of doing buisness it should be invisible to the end customer. There are many company's that deal with the same issues and succeed. Also my dealer is being less than forthcomming with my demand for the contact info of the regional brand mgr. he claims he isnt sure whom that is and needs to find out and call me back. Ill call fiat again later and let them know. Im only just getting started here. We are the worst possible customers to piss off and they have managed to do so with most of us.
I still have my very fist car a 1969 spider, and a 79 x19. I am a very loyal customer seriously loosing faith. It has been a challenge supporting this brand all these years. a bit more of a challenge now.

[CapNCrunch]

I've been following this forum for quite some time (thanks, Chris for your hard work). I have to comment that I think the saddest thing is that the guy who started and runs the site doesn't even have his prima yet! What a shame. You are the biggest cheerleader for Fiat and you are getting shafted!

Hang in there Chris! You have clearly committed yourself to the brand, but I wouldn't blame you if you said "screw it!" and bought a Mini.

[FiatDude]

I've been thinking about that since the PEs began dribbling in but didn't want to mention it.

I echo the sentiment that I appreciate that you began this web site.  It has very informative and helpful along the way.  I know it takes a lot of time and effort to keep it going and it is much appreciated.

Thank you Chris.  I hope you get your PE soon!

[fredfrey]

I hardly think that having to wait a few weeks for local bureaucrats to approve a dealerships paperwork is getting "shafted"!  If we had paid for a car and gotten a lemon, then that complaint would be justified. In the age of the internet, instant gratification is expected. We FIAT fans have waited years - weeks are simple.

[Jim]

Something that might help, in my state there is a website where you can search for a buisness license. It is most likely the same for each state. So if your in doubt about the license status of your dealer you can look it up.
NYS lists the date of the last update to the db as well.

[Gavin]

CapNCrunch wrote

I've been following this forum for quite some time (thanks, Chris for your hard work). I have to comment that I think the saddest thing is that the guy who started and runs the site doesn't even have his prima yet! What a shame. You are the biggest cheerleader for Fiat and you are getting shafted!

Hang in there Chris! You have clearly committed yourself to the brand, but I wouldn't blame you if you said "screw it!" and bought a Mini.

I agree....Chris if you want you can come and drive my Prima anytime and as much as you like, you are more that welcome.

 Heck, I have my scooters...come by and borrow it for a week if you want.

:)

Gavin

[kmarei]

FINALLY!! got it today :) drives really nice. bose sound system = crap. had it on max volume, way too much bass, no midrange, and a little treble got tons of looks today :)

[Jim]

only a matter of time wasnt it FIAT!

http://www.kcconfidential.com/?page=Car


Fiats going to have to make up for this somehow, or loose some very long time follower. Any reportes can feel free to contact me about an interview.. I have lots to say also.

[Gavin]

Wow...I really really REALLY dislike that they quoted many of us (me included) without a call or post or text or anything....yeah for wonderful reporting. For all they know they just quoted rivals of Fiat...for all they know I am a psych patient (hey, no snickering or agreeing).

So this is reporting?? Call me. Check your sources. Or instead if you are lazy and horribly unprofessional, just grab a bunch of crap off the internet and make a living. Sad.

And it not like I wouldn't have told them the truth or even denied them using my posts. But ask, inform, do a real job of it. Posers on the web drive me crazy.

Gavin

[Jim]

I had assumed they interviewed you, it actually had that kind of feel.
I would expect this to get picked up on by many. There has been a huge perhaps the biggest ever following of this release, and when they should have made an enourmous effort to shine, they just didnt.

[fredfrey]

Agreed! What accounts for news reporting now has devolved to reading "tweets" from Twitter or anonymous blog posts.   Keep this in the back of your mind when  you post.

I just spoke the trucking company that is transporting my PE from NJ to Sarasota:

Me:  "just checking to the ETA for my FIAT"
Girl: "hello! We were all just talking here in the office about how CUITE your car is! - Everyone in the office wants to know what it is!"  "Oh, it will be delivered tomorrow"...

[Gavin]

oh no doubt Fiat has not done well with the whole Prima issue.

In hindsight Fiat either needed to work way way harder on the Prima deliveries...or just not do a Prima model at all.

That said:

A) Fiat will, probably rightly so, just say: Hey this was harder that we had hoped and we definitely hit some snags. But we wanted to do something nice for our long time supporters. In the long run we are glad to be back selling great cars in North America and we hope to grow that list of long time supporters into a much bigger list.

B) No they did not interview me. Did not ask me to use my posts. Did not email me to let me know they were going to use my posts with or without my permission....Just reeks of amateur hour. I hope they get minimal hits...sorry I actually clicked your link.

The sad part is they could have gotten tons of quotes and used web posts from probably just about anybody if they had asked. Maybe not Chris...and I would be pissed if I were him that they did quote him, especially in the manor they did...but oh well

Gavin

[Giallo Edizione]

Gavin wrote

Wow...I really really REALLY dislike that they quoted many of us (me included) without a call or post or text or anything....yeah for wonderful reporting. For all they know they just quoted rivals of Fiat...for all they know I am a psych patient (hey, no snickering or agreeing).

So this is reporting?? Call me. Check your sources. Or instead if you are lazy and horribly unprofessional, just grab a bunch of crap off the internet and make a living. Sad.

And it not like I wouldn't have told them the truth or even denied them using my posts. But ask, inform, do a real job of it. Posers on the web drive me crazy.

Gavin

Its a blog, man. Welcome to the new millenium, where anyone can have a byline and not have to support their sources. Note that the only quotes they used came from forum members who used apparently real names as their handles.

And they made no mention of the notorious secret bezel caper. Talk about gaps in reporting!

[Gavin]

ah, I thought it was real news...ok.

blogs are ok as only his/her family will likely read it.

hopefully real news sources will be a bit more through if they link to that blog at all

Gavin

[RonBatt]

Car 15 where are you???  Called Kelly Fiat as Paul L had my car travelling from Michigan to their dealership in Peabody.  Learned more in this 10 min call than all my calls to Fait and my supposed delivering dealer! These Kelly folks truly have their act together. My car is in a rail yard in East Brookfield, MA en route to Kelly but I was advised its status was changing as we spoke and a note appeared: "Special Authority to Move" may change all this.  Told Peabody Fiat I would come to their dealership with cash and a trailer and rescue my car from yet another journey.  Since they overshot the delivering dealer in Rochester NY by 400+/- miles (I live in Buffalo), who knows the car may end up in California.  So my advice to all, Paul L has been great but rather than pestering him I suggest you call a Fiat Studio already open and delivering cars.  They have the capability of finding your cars through Fiat's Dealer website by entering your vehicles VIN and telling you exactly where it is and where it is going.  GOOD LUCK. Ciao.